West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

I was counting Boswell when I came up with 12. Now that Saben is leaving, that would puts us at 11. I no Crutch would go through the season with 12 give or take but in Ben's two years at the helm we've had 14 or 15 rostered players. There is recruiting work to do but I don't think it is absolutely critical that we have 15. I'd be ok at 13 provided they were all quality players.

[Dirtybird]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

I'm thinking, counting 2 redshirts and 3 recruits there are 11 on the roster at this point.

[Layton]

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

No surprise here...
Keegan Saban is transferring...If you're a sophomore at WL, and you're not in their "two deep", better to move on. Once French became playable this year, he was odd man out.

Not sure if we'll see any other attrition...

They lose 4 seniors and Saban and Ariel Watson...

Not surprised by Saban leaving. Something must have happened to put him under Ben's dog house. He went from starting the two games in the MEC tourney last season ahead of long time starter Griffin to an end of the bench 0 minute guy in most games after the mid point in the season this year.

My take is that he just didn't score enough. In 9 straight games early in the season he got 10+ minutes and never scored more than 4 points during that stretch. Hard to be a guard (unless you are the point guard) on WLU and not be able to score. Don't get many minutes that way...and it looks like that is what happened. When French came back his fate was sealed.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

I've actually being trying to think about this for IUP's Dom Keyes. He sat out this year on suspension.

Freshmen year: UPJ
Sophomore year: Harford CC
'third year' ... Redshirt at IUP
'fourth year' ... suspended (from basketball season) at IUP
2019-20:

Does he have 1 year left or two?

See my previous post. I suggest you just put the note pad you are trying to figure it out on down, walk away and never think of it again!! Your liver will thank you!

[IUP Extra Mile]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

No surprise here...
Keegan Saban is transferring...If you're a sophomore at WL, and you're not in their "two deep", better to move on. Once French became playable this year, he was odd man out.

Not sure if we'll see any other attrition...

They lose 4 seniors and Saban and Ariel Watson...

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Good points. As I understand it, Your eligbility clock in D1 is a running clock starting when you enter college and ends 5 years later (excluding medical RS). . D2 is based on semesters that you actually attended college; it ends once you have attended 8 fall/spring semesters AND you have used up your 4 years of playing eligibility (5 yrs with redshirt) . So if you are attending classes but not sitting on the bench, it is like a redshirt year as it counts against your 5 years.

DII semesters are based on semesters you "competed" in. If you went to college but didn't compete (i.e. you took no part in organized team activities...games, practice, etc), that semester didn't count against your 10 total. Within that 10 semesters of eligibility, you could have 4 actual on-field seasons.

The NCAA is all over in their interpretation of what "compete" means. Amedro was at App State for two full years which should have burned four semesters. Somehow the NCAA interpreted that for at least one or two, he didn't compete so they didn't count toward his 10 semesters. Net effect was that he was able to sit (non-compete) the spring of his junior year and use his 10th semester (and 4th on-field season) during the fall of his senior year.

WLU also had a WR who came in after two years at a JUCO and was only able to get one on field season when it seemed like he should have had two. I also recall a TE at one of the PSAC schools who got ruled ineligible by the NCAA and then after reconsideration (appeal?) they said he WAS eligible.

Trying to figure out NCAA eligibility rules and decisions is much like trying to figure out the secret NCAA playoff selection formula. It leads to nothing but gray hair, an ulcer and sclerosis of the liver!!!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Good points. As I understand it, Your eligbility clock in D1 is a running clock starting when you enter college and ends 5 years later (excluding medical RS). . D2 is based on semesters that you actually attended college; it ends once you have attended 8 fall/spring semesters AND you have used up your 4 years of playing eligibility (5 yrs with redshirt) . So if you are attending classes but not sitting on the bench, it is like a redshirt year as it counts against your 5 years.

I've actually being trying to think about this for IUP's Dom Keyes. He sat out this year on suspension.

Freshmen year: UPJ
Sophomore year: Harford CC
'third year' ... Redshirt at IUP
'fourth year' ... suspended (from basketball season) at IUP
2019-20:

Does he have 1 year left or two?

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

We talk about redshirt in the same way it applies in D1. DII rules are different. Net/net is roughly the same but they are technically different and every now and then the rules can be manipulated to get an "extra" year (i.e. Amedro "sat out" the spring semester between his Jr and Sr year and used that semester of eligibility during the first semester of his Sr year.

Good points. As I understand it, Your eligbility clock in D1 is a running clock starting when you enter college and ends 5 years later (excluding medical RS). . D2 is based on semesters that you actually attended college; it ends once you have attended 8 fall/spring semesters AND you have used up your 4 years of playing eligibility (5 yrs with redshirt) . So if you are attending classes but not sitting on the bench, it is like a redshirt year as it counts against your 5 years.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Not 100% sure, but I think it is because he is not technically "redshirting" in the traditional sense. WJU is making him sit out a year away from basketball due to transfer restriction.
Alessandro is a traditional redshirt situation.

We talk about redshirt in the same way it applies in D1. DII rules are different. Net/net is roughly the same but they are technically different and every now and then the rules can be manipulated to get an "extra" year (i.e. Amedro "sat out" the spring semester between his Jr and Sr year and used that semester of eligibility during the first semester of his Sr year.

[Columbuseer]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Not 100% sure, but I think it is because he is not technically "redshirting" in the traditional sense. WJU is making him sit out a year away from basketball due to transfer restriction.
Alessandro is a traditional redshirt situation.

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

I'm not an basketball expert by any streatch of the imagination. But I have refered two players to WLU (one under the Crutch regime and one under Ben). BOTH times I got a reply from Ben within 30 minutes saying he had watched the guys film and wanted to talk with him. Neither player ended up going to WLU (one took a low level D1 offer and the other cat apparently didn't have the grades to qualify and is now flipping burgers). But it's just illustrative of how WLU operates. Ben doesn't know me from Adam but he was more than willing to take a look at and talk to any player from anywhere if he thought they might help the program.

[Layton]

[boatcapt]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Anecdotal stories aside, there is overwhelming statistical evidence that tobacco can kill you. Tobacco paid scientists to falsify data. Anyone who had been around someone with copd will likely never smoke as it is like constant suffocation.
Agree with you on marijuana. European studies link it to schizophrenia and ironically violence!

Point I was making is that seemingly everyone has been gunning for big tobacco and it just keeps humming along inspite of the multi billion dollar settlements and the warning stickers on every pack. People continue to do it and new ones even start knowing that it has a pretty good chance of either killing them or making their life miserable.

I note with irony that I'm typing this while smoking a nice fat stogie!!!

[Topper912]

Re: West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

Have you guys ever looked at the attendance or arenas for low level D1? Our basketball program would compete for the auto bid in first year if we were in a conference like the NEC. Yes I'd rather make the Sweet 16 in D1 as opposed to win the D2 National Championship. Possibly would rather win 1st round D1 tourney game than win D2 NC. Heck even making the D1 tourney would be up there with winning the D2 NC.

The highest average attendance in the entire NEC is Wagner with 1,450/game. There's 44 D1 teams who average less than 1,000/game which is also counting students. It's obvious West Liberty doesn't count students based on how much our arena holds and our reported average attendance. I have no doubt we average over 1,000/game. There's around 50 programs who's arena holds less than 3,000. There's around 20 programs who's arena holds less than 2,000. We could easily expand to over 3,000 by replacing the portable chair backs with bigger ones on the one side opposite of the main entrance.

Stetson- 202/game
New Hampshire - 383/game
Stetson- 418/game


In a perfect world a couple of the top programs from this region (MEC/PSAC maybe 1-2 from CAA) would get together and move up to form a new D1 conference. Let the football programs either be non scholarship or remain at the current 36 scholarship limit we already have in D2. This would keep the costs WAY down.



http://stats.ncaa.org/rankings/change_sport_year_div